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Update FRBs.md
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weird-polaroid authored Sep 25, 2024
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Expand Up @@ -13,17 +13,23 @@ Fast Radio Bursts are enigmatic flashes of radio waves coming from deep space an
### Some Key Characteristics

1. Duration: Generally, FRBs tend to last just a few milliseconds.

2. Energy: Although less energetic than in the case of [GRBs](./GRBs.html), FRBs still release a huge amount of energy in the form of radio waves.

3. Wavelength: FRBs radiate mainly in the radio part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

4. Dispersion: The radio signal from FRBs gets dispersed due to free electrons present in space. Higher frequencies reach earth before lower ones.

### Origins

The exact cause of FRBs remains one of the biggest mysteries in modern astronomy. Some possible explanations that have been suggested include:

1. Magnetars: Highly magnetized [neutron stars](../special%20stars/neutron%20stars.html) undergoing "starquakes" or magnetic reconnection events. The detection, in 2020, of an FRB-like signal from a Galactic magnetar supports this hypothesis to some extent.

2. Neutron star mergers: Similar to that for short GRBs, but possibly viewed from a different angle.

3. [Pulsar](../special%20stars/pulsars.html) phenomena: Some models interpret FRBs as giant pulses from young, highly magnetized pulsars.

4. Alien signals: Some suspect artificial origins, however, this is now considered extremely improbable.

Primarily, FRBs are detected via radio telescopes like CHIME and ASKAP. The issue with exploring FRBs is that they are very quick, and identifying where they originate from is challenging.
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